World Bank President Robert Zoellick (L) talks to International Monetary Fund ( IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn during the annual IMF-World Bank meetings in Washington Saturday October 9.

"Economic recovery is proceeding, but remains fragile and uneven," the communique said. The group officially rejected "protectionism in all its forms," but also cited "tensions" over exchange-rate movements and imbalanced trade patterns.

The persistently weak job market this year in America has aggravated the problem. Congress and the Obama administration are pushing China to allow its yuan to float higher, which should give a boost to US exports and make imports from China less attractive to US consumers.

Congressional move to penalize China

The House of Representatives even approved a bill last week that designed to penalize Chinese imports with countervailing duties (designed to offset the alleged currency-rate subsidy).